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You might be interested in this article by Judd L. Robertson from the Trinity Forum Academy's online newsletter CONVERSATIONS. The opening text is below; see this link for the rest: http://www.ttf.org/index/conversations/detail/purpose-of-small-groups/ ---------- The Purpose of Small Groups A 2004 Academy alumnus discusses his recent spiritual and intellectual journey from “Bible study” to “small group” and its implications for a church in a lonely world. I’ve been involved in Bible studies since my freshman year in college, and have led them on and off since my junior year. Their success is hard to judge, if that is even the right language. Do people keep coming? Are they learning? When the former was true, I’d often walk away wondering how much people really got out of the time, questioning the effectiveness of my teaching, and criticizing myself for not knowing enough. At times I wished for a Matrix-like infusion of raw Biblical data—not only for me but for the whole group. In my mind, the purpose of the Bible study was, obviously, studying the Bible. Like the sermon on Sunday, the measure of Tuesday’s gathering was how much we learned about the Bible—and, by extension, about God. Fellowship before and prayer after, though important, were the crescendo and decrescendo. In this way of thinking I found knowing God got easily confused with knowing about God, and learning was mistaken for growth. ---------- The entry has 885 more words. http://www.ttf.org/index/conversations/detail/purpose-of-small-groups/